Manhattan DA: Trump Committed ‘Bread-And-Butter’ White-Collar Crime - Forbes

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Topline

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday the historic indictment of former President Donald Trump is similar to scores of other “bread-and-butter” white-collar crimes his office deals with, stating “no amount of money and no amount of power” will keep Trump from being held to the same standard as other defendants.

Key Facts

Bragg said at a news conference following Trump’s arraignment Tuesday afternoon that the case “at its core” resembles numerous others where a defendant made “critical false statements” about business transactions.

The district attorney said he’s prosecuting Trump for “34 false statements made to cover up other crimes,” referring to checks sent to former Trump fixer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for a $130,000 alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about an affair she claimed to have with Trump.

Bragg said the $130,000 payment—made during the final days of the 2016 campaign—was a clear effort “to hide damaging information from the voting public,” while payments to Cohen for so-called legal services served as a cover-up.

Trump’s attorneys have blasted the decision to charge the former president years after the alleged crimes took place, but Bragg claimed his office uncovered “additional” evidence that former District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. did not possess—he did not specify to which evidence he was referring.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records.

Crucial Quote

“We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” Bragg said.

Key Background

Trump’s indictment was unsealed Tuesday along with a “statement of facts” from the district attorney’s office, which stated that Trump “went to great lengths” to hide the affair allegations. Trump’s attorneys framed the 16-page indictment as “boilerplate” for its lack of granular details, with lead attorney Todd Blanche saying there were “not really any surprises” in the document.

Contra

Bragg framed the charges as “bread and butter,” but procedures at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Tuesday were anything but. Trump reportedly did not receive a mug shot and he spent about an hour in the courtroom for his arraignment hearing—a proceeding that typically takes just a few minutes. Judge Juan Merchan reportedly warned both legal teams to exercise caution about social media posts, after Trump warned there could be “death & destruction” if he is indicted. Trump also recently shared a side-by-side image of himself preparing to swing a bat in the direction of Alvin Bragg’s skull.